In Rowley, Massachusetts, the public library and local nonprofit Striving for Sustainability are organizing a free Halloween costume shop where families can bring gently used outfits and browse the collection. The library says costumes are being accepted from Sept. 15 through Oct. 16, before the shop opens Saturday, Oct. 17. It is listed for 10 a.m. to noon in the library’s meeting rooms, with no registration required.
The arrangement has two parts: a collection period and a shopping day. Residents can bring costumes to the Rowley Public Library at 141 Main Street, as well as the two additional drop-off locations named by organizers, 500 Wethersfield Street and 41 Wethersfield Street. The library’s event listing says donations are being accepted from Sept. 15 through Oct. 16. The collection period runs for a month before the shop opens.
The drive welcomes costume sizes from infants through teens. Organizers ask that clothing be clean and gently used, without rips or stains, and that contributors leave out undergarments. They also ask donors to keep each costume with its matching accessories. Those requests set practical boundaries for what can be offered and help keep the pieces together as they move from one household to another.
On Oct. 17, families will be able to browse the collection at no charge, and a donation is not required to take part. That detail makes the exchange open to households that may not have a costume to contribute. People can give something, find something, or simply come looking for an outfit; the event does not make one action a condition for the other. The library says reusable shopping bags are welcome, with bags also available at the event.
The shop is a partnership between the library and Striving for Sustainability, a local nonprofit founded in 2024 by Rowley residents Laura DiPersia, Anya Ciarametaro and Alyssa King, according to The Local News. The group’s work is described as encouraging sustainable practices through conversation, conservation and education. The costume event is part of a broader pattern of collaborations at the library that has included back-to-school clothing drives, toy swaps and earlier Halloween costume shops.
Sarah Nicholson, the library’s youth services manager, told The Local News that the swaps help make goods accessible to families who may not be able to buy new items, while giving usable belongings another life. The report describes the partnership as a way to organize those exchanges locally. In this case, the focus is a seasonal item with a short window of use: a costume that may no longer fit one child can still be ready for another Halloween.
The event’s low-barrier format is straightforward. Donors have several listed drop-off addresses and a defined window to contribute; shoppers have a free two-hour period and do not need to have donated first. Costumes are being collected in a range of child sizes, and the library listing says no registration is required. The organizers have not published an estimate of how many outfits will be available, so families will have to see what the collection brings in.
For anyone planning to participate, the immediate step is to check a costume before bringing it in: make sure it is clean, intact and grouped with its accessories, and leave out undergarments. The collection closes Friday, Oct. 16. The free shop is scheduled for the following morning, Oct. 17, from 10 a.m. to noon at Rowley Public Library, 141 Main Street. A library calendar entry identifies the event as an in-person program with no registration required.
The event’s schedule and access details are specific: costumes may be dropped off from Sept. 15 through Oct. 16 at three addresses, then families can attend the free shop at the library on Oct. 17, 10 a.m. to noon. Organizers have not published an estimate of how many outfits will be available. There is no registration requirement, and shopping is not conditioned on donating; people may give, browse, or do both. The local program links reuse with a free seasonal option for households.
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